We have a venue!
Finally chose a venue for the November F2F for the book club: Shawarma Snack Center in Ermita, Manila.
In choosing the venue, I actually considered two things: theme vs. accessibility. After consulting some three or four of my good friends from the book club (only one voted for accessibility, which is relative anyway) I decided to go for theme, and by theme I decided for Turkish - a good portion of The Historian transpires in Istanbul, Turkey. I also have it on good authority that Turkey is a very beautiful country, and of all the countries mentioned in the book, I thought it was the most interesting - historically and aesthetically. So I settled on Turkish as the theme for the F2F11 venue.
I spent a good couple of weeks searching the internet for Turkish restaurants in the metro. I also noted down the restaurants that offered Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, since my research revealed that Turkish cuisine can be classified as either. Finally, I rounded up my choices to three, and intended to try them all out before the long Halloween holidays. Unfortunately, time is of the essence, since we'll be sending out the event invites by November 1st, and time is a luxury I really don't have much of these days. :(
So I resolved to check out the one that's nearest my house - Shawarma Snack Center in Ermita - and crossed my fingers (and everything else that can be possibly crossed) that it would fit my personal requirements: big, air-conditioned space for, oh, perhaps 20-30 people, good food, and ambiance. I hauled my family to the restaurant last Friday for an ocular and to sample the food. When I saw the place and tried their delicious food, I thought, thank God, I found a venue. :D
We tried their hummous, kebab, beef shawarma, and chicken biryani - and we loved all of them! Loved the pita bread most of all. :)
And because of this venue, I am now, more than ever, so excited for the F2F! :D
Come join us? :D
 |
| img src |
In choosing the venue, I actually considered two things: theme vs. accessibility. After consulting some three or four of my good friends from the book club (only one voted for accessibility, which is relative anyway) I decided to go for theme, and by theme I decided for Turkish - a good portion of The Historian transpires in Istanbul, Turkey. I also have it on good authority that Turkey is a very beautiful country, and of all the countries mentioned in the book, I thought it was the most interesting - historically and aesthetically. So I settled on Turkish as the theme for the F2F11 venue.
I spent a good couple of weeks searching the internet for Turkish restaurants in the metro. I also noted down the restaurants that offered Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, since my research revealed that Turkish cuisine can be classified as either. Finally, I rounded up my choices to three, and intended to try them all out before the long Halloween holidays. Unfortunately, time is of the essence, since we'll be sending out the event invites by November 1st, and time is a luxury I really don't have much of these days. :(
So I resolved to check out the one that's nearest my house - Shawarma Snack Center in Ermita - and crossed my fingers (and everything else that can be possibly crossed) that it would fit my personal requirements: big, air-conditioned space for, oh, perhaps 20-30 people, good food, and ambiance. I hauled my family to the restaurant last Friday for an ocular and to sample the food. When I saw the place and tried their delicious food, I thought, thank God, I found a venue. :D
 |
| The interior of the air-conditioned restaurant. img src |
We tried their hummous, kebab, beef shawarma, and chicken biryani - and we loved all of them! Loved the pita bread most of all. :)
 |
| Shawarma, anyone? img src |
 |
| How about some flavored sheesha? :P img src |
And because of this venue, I am now, more than ever, so excited for the F2F! :D
Come join us? :D
Comments
I really, really liked the food at SSC. All the dishes that I sampled were so tasty and yummy!
So we'll see you there on the 17th? :D
Oh, well. it sucks looking for a venue, right. haha!